10 snow filled holidays for people who DON’T want to ski

Holidays in the snow can be filled with all manner of activities other than skiing - think scenic train rides, beautiful walks and the breathtaking Northern Lights. Who needs the beach?

Finn flight

In winter the snow-blanketed Arctic is bone cold and barely sees the light of day. But the twilight landscapes are wild and dramatic, the menu of activities exciting and, in the right clothing, you can be as cosy as toast.

Taking advantage of Finnair's new (from December) direct flight from Gatwick to Kittila, in the far north of Finnish Lapland (just north of the Arctic Circle), Regent Holidays has a four night trip based in a cosy wilderness log cabin on the edge of the Pallas-Yllästunturi National Park.

Travel from Tromsø in Northern Norway, by bus across the frozen tundra, to Narvik where you board The Arctic Train to Kiruna in Sweden.

The five day trip ends with a spectacular stay in a snow room at the Icehotel.

There's ample time to add excursions, to see the Northern Lights, for example, or husky, snowmobile and reindeer safaris.

From £1030 pp B&B, including local bus to Narvik, flights, transfers and a ride on the Ofoten railway. Details: nordicexperience.co.uk.

Land of ice

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Three newly opened experiences in Iceland feature on Discover the World's self-drive holiday: the interactive volcano and earthquake exhibition at the LAVA Centre in Hvolsvöllur, the geothermal Krauma Spa in Borgarfjörður which blends 97 degree hot water that constantly gurgles forth from inner earth with cooler river water, and the recently renovated Perlan Museum in Reykjavik where visitors walk through an ice cave.

From £609 pp B&B with flights and 5 days' car hire. Details: discover-the-world.co.uk. Superbreak is also offering flights for the first time from UK regional airports to Akureyri, Iceland's lively second city with three night packages from £699 pp. Details: superbreak.com.

Alpine charm

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The toytown, lakeside village of Sils in the Swiss Engadine Valley offers winter walking along well marked trails, horse-drawn carriage rides through forests blanketed by a duvet of snow and langlauf, the cross country alternative to downhill skiing.

Nietzsche, who spent many months here, wrote 'all truly great thoughts are conceived by walking' so always carry a pen and paper.

From £1,295pp half-board with afternoon tea and cake, use of buses and trains in the valley, flights and transfers. Details: inntravel.co.uk.

High life

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Enjoy a moving pageant of scenes straight off your Christmas cards, all from the snug-as-a-bug comfort of three of Switzerland’s world-renowned scenic rail journeys: the Golden Pass Line, the Bernina Express and the Glacier Express.

From £1,549 pp for a week including First Class travel (Standard Premier on Eurostar), B&B in Montreux, Chur and Cologne and a Swiss half-fare card for your free days. Details: planetrail.co.uk.

Bavarian rhapsody

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Based just north of the Austrian border in the medieval Bavarian town of Füssen, with views that inspired Tchaikovsky’s Swan Lake, Ramblers Holidays has a guided winter walking week combining forest trails and lakeside paths with the fairytale palace castles of bonkers King Ludwig II, namely Neuschwanstein, Hohenschwangau and Linderhof, plus the village of Oberammergau.

From £1,075 pp including flights, half board and local transport with a choice of departures.

Literary Svalbard

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With its snowy peaks to polar bears, the Svalbard wilderness is reckoned to be the iconic setting of Philip Pullman’s trilogy His Dark Materials.

Best Served Scandinavia has a four day 'Philip Pullman Break' from £1,220 pp including flights, 3 nights in a hotel B&B, a husky sledding excursion to an ice cave and a Northern Lights night, with a dinner of reindeer, at the wilderness Camp Barentz. Details: best-served.co.uk.

Winter city

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Even in the depths of winter Salzburg can feel like a breath of spring, its light, airy, playfully baroque architecture, graceful squares, statues, fountains, gardens, courtyards and weathered-green copper domes able to lift the spirits even when blanketed in snow.

Much of what you see today is the Salzburg of Mozart. His birthplace tops the sightseeing menu, his music usually being performed somewhere while you're in town.

From this winter you'll also be able to fly from Manchester to Salzburg as well as from London Heathrow and Gatwick. Details and prices from ba.com. Kirker has three nights from £629pp including flights from London, transfers and B&B and the 4 star Auersperg. Details: kirkerholidays.com.

Winter seas

Hurtigruten, best known for its daily services to ports along the entire west coast of Norway, has an Arctic Highlights voyage entirely within the Arctic Circle.

From Tromso, directly beneath the Aurora Oval (the epicentre of Northern Lights activity) it rounds the North Cape, the northernmost point in Mainland Europe, to Kirkenes on the Russian border, where at longitude 30° E, you are further east than Istanbul or St. Petersburg. It then returns the way it came.

Prices from £849 pp for 5 days including flights (choice of airports), half board and one night in a hotel B&B. Details: hurtigruten.co.uk.

Plagne sleighing

The bobsleigh run in the French resort of La Plagne, built for the 1992 Albertville Olympic Games, is still remains the resort’s showcase activity.

There are three options: The Bob Raft which carries 4 people at 50 mph, a faster Speed Luge solo vehicle and Bob Racing with three riders plus a pilot which travels at 75mph.

To book visit bobsleigh.net or, for accommodation options la-plagne.com.